And charles



' (No Model.)

"-Platentedwar.' 7,1893.

-(11011101191.) f 2snee-tf','-9,11eet 2. J. 0. ADSIT 8u C. H. WIGKHAM.

STREET GAR. I

No. 492,882. y n Patented'lVIar. 7, 1893.

n1: MORRIS Psrzlks au. PHoToLlwa. wngmmon u c UNITED` STATES PATENT AOFFICE.

JOHN OLMSTED ADSIT, OF HORNELLSVILLE, NEW YORK, AND CHARLES HENRYWICKHAM, OF TIOGA, PENNSYLVANIA.

STREET-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 492,882, dated Marchi7', 1893.

Application filed May 14, 1892. Serial No. 433.014. (No model.)

.To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that we, JOHN OLMsrED ADsIT, residing at Hornellsville, inthe county of Steuben and State of New York, and CHARLES HENRY WICKHAM,residing at Tioga, in the county of Tioga and State of Pennsylvania,

citizens of the United States, have invented v certain new and usefulImprovements in Street-Railway Cars; and we do declare the following tobe a full, clear, vand exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

Our invention has reference to the construction of car trucks, moreparticularly to street railway cars which are electrically propelled,and has for its objects to provide for the' rigid support of the shaftof an electric motor in the same horizontal plane with the car axles andarranged so as to extend diagonally between the two axles and havesuitable toothed wheels on it engage with toothed Wh eels or gearsconnected with the car wh eelsV or axles so as to apply power from therigid shaft of the motor simultaneously to the front and rear car wheelsor axles by a single reduction gear at diagonally opposite points, inthe same horizontal plane with the front and rear axles; also to providea rigid frame to connect fthe front and rear axles to afford a rigidsupport for the motor shaft which will extend diagonally across saidframe, the frame being designed to give the maximum of strength andrigidity for the support of the diagonally disposed motor shaft; also toprovide for such a construction of the frame as will permit it to bequickly applied and adjusted to position between the front and the rearaxle; andalso provide for throwing the gears of the motorshaft into andout of operation whereby the power of the motor may be gradually appliedand the burning out of the wires of the motor prevented.

It also, has for its object to generally simplify and improve theconstruction and application of the parts employed.

By reason of the construction and the disposition of the parts justreferred to in general terms and hereinafter more particularly specifiedthe power is more directly and positively applied to the car wheels oraxles, and constant contact" between the power transmitting gearsinsured and loss of power prevented, and firmness and strength obtained.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other advantages as mayresult from the improvements made, the invention consists in theconstruction and the` disposition of parts hereinafter particularlydescribed and then sought to be specifically defined by the claims,reference being had to lthe accompanying drawings forming a part hereof,and in which Figure 1 represents a plan of so much of a car trucknecessary to illustrate the invention, .showing the rigid frameconnecting the front and rear car-wheel axles together, with thediagonally disposed motor shaft, the power transmitting gears, and meansfor throwing said gears into and out of operation. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation, in vertical section on the line :1c-:v of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is asectional view of parts taken on the line y-y of Fig.-1 looking in thedirection of the arrow represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view,with parts broken away, showing a modified form of applying the powertransmitting gear. Fig. 5 is a side View of one of the power gears withsections of the gear teeth removed. Fig. 6 is an end view of one segmentof the gear wheel, showing also the bolt and nut by which the same maybe secured in place, and Fig. 7 is a side view of a portion of the motorshaft, sections of the supporting frame, the beveled pinion gear, andclutch mechanism.

ln the drawings the numeral 1 designates the front and rear axles of thecar provided with the wheels 2 of any approved pattern. The front andrear axles are connected together by a rigid frame preferably composedof the two parallel members 3 extendinglength wise of the truck andconnected together by the members 4 extending diagonally to the lengthof the truck, the diagonally opposite corners 5 of the frame havingformed integrally therewith the lower half 6 of the boxings of theaxles, the upper portions of the boxings being formed by the caps 7which will be secured ,by bolts 8 to the lower por- IOC tion of theboxing, whereby the frame will be secured at the points mentioned to thetwo axles of the car. The frame will also be connected to the axles bythe similarly formed boxes 6 and 7 and bolts 8, the lower portions ofthe last mentioned boxes being formed integral with the members 9extending from the members 4, or integrally with the members 10extending from the members 8, or iutegrally with both of said members 9and 10 it both members be employed together. lf the members 10 beemployed as a portion of the frame, it is preferred to have them dropdown below the plane of the other portion of the frame and then beextended up to where the boxes are attached as indicated by dotted linesin Fig. 2 so as to clear the beveled pinions that are on the motorshaft. lt is preferred to make the entire frame of T iron asillustrated, and if desired the frame may be braced by the members 11formed integrally therewith or otherwise connected thereto.

The frame constructed as described constitutesa rigid connection betweenthe front and rear axles and distributes the strain so that it does notcome unduly upon any one point; and when constructed generally asdescribed it can be made as an independent part of the structure andshipped in that form in condition for ready attachment atthe point ofdestination. This frame also constitutes a rigid support for anysuitable approved type or pattern of electric motor which the partnumbered 12 will represent, the shaft 13 of the motor being journaled insuitable boxes therefor made in or upon said frame and held thereto bythe caps 14 so as to be free to turn in its boxes. This motor shaft isextended diagonally across the frame and is supported so as to be in thesame horizontal plane with the front and rear axles 1 of the car wheels,the

ends of the shaft resting in suitable bearings 15 made therefor in theboxes which secure the frame to the front and rear axles. This shaft 13supports suitable gears, for instance, the beveled pinions 16, the teethof which will engage the teeth of another suitable gear, for instance,the gearv 17 which may be secured to the car wheel as illustrated inFig. 1,01' tothe car axle at a point removed from said car wheels as isindicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. By supporting the motor shaft 13diagonally upon the rigid frame between the front and rear axles so thatit will lie diagonally to said axles and in the same horizontal planetherewith, the gears upon the motor shaft are caused to have constantcontact with the other power transmitting gears at a point where theycannot leave the gears and where the power will be applied to the bestadvantage, and so that by a single reduction gear the power will beapplied simultaneously from the single motor shaft to the front and rearwheels of the car, either directly as illustrated in Fig. 1, orindirectly through the car axle as indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings,in both Vsegment to the wheel.

instances thevpower being applied lat diagonally opposite points.'

We prefer to form the gears 17 of a series of segments, each beingformed with a boltlS which will pass through the car wheel and have anut 19 applied thereto to clamp the But instead of that form we may havethe segments of the gears 17 applied in the same manner to a disk orplate 2O which will be keyed to the car axle at a pointJ back from thecar wheel as illustrated in Fig. 4.

Instead of forming the bolts on the back of the segments constitutingthe gears and passing them through the body of the car wheels as justdescribed, the car wheels, and the seg-V ments, one or both, may bevformed with perforated ears or lugs 21 as indicated by dotted lines inFig. 2, and bolts be passedl through the ears and nuts applied to thebolts t-o secure Athe parts together. This however, is a mere mechanicalchange involving no invention and need not therefore be more fullyillustrated or described.

In order that the operating gears may be thrown into and out ofoperation without-stopping the rotation of the motor shaft, and in orderto apply the power of the motor gradually in starting the car so as toavoid burning out the wires of the motor, we provide some suitable formof clutch mechanism which will Apermit the gears to be thrown into andout of operation without necessarily stopping the power motor. As onesuitable form for the purpose we haveillustrated the bevel pinions 16 asmounted loosely upon the motor shaft and have shown in connectiontherewith a clutch mechanism 21 which is similar or like in constructionand operation to the clutch patented to Henry Bond October 12, 1886, No.350,798 and which therefore need not be here more particularlydescribed, we having merely substituted the beveled pinion for thepulley represented in that patent; b ut we do not mean to restrictourselves to that form of clutch, it being merely illustrated andreferred to here as one form of suitable clutch that may be used for thepurpose.

To the sliding cone portion 22 of the clutch is loosely connected thefork end of a lever 23 pivoted at the point 24, and also the fork end ofanother lever 25 pivoted at the poi-nt 26, and to the lever 23 isconnected the end of a rod 27, as in aleverof the third kind, and to thelever 25 is connected the end of a'rod 28, as in a lever of the firstkind, so that by pulling on either of the rods 27 and 28 from the end ofthe car where the operator will stand the sliding cone will be moved soas to operate the clutch to bind the pinion to the motor shaft and thuscause the power to be transmitted through the pinion and the gear withwhich it meshes to the car wheel.

The same arrangement of clutch and levers and operating rods areemployed at both ends of the truck so that the parts can be operated ITOin the same manner from either end of the car, the two ends of the rods27 and 28 being joined at the ends of the car to a chain 29 connected toan upright shaft 30 provided with a crank handle 31 and pawl and ratchetso that by turning the shaft the rods and levers will be operated as isobvious to any person skilled in mechanics. A spring (not illustrated)may be employed to return the sliding cone portion of the clutch to itsunclutching position when the operating rods are released. A slidingconnection, by eyes as illustrated in the drawings, or otherwise, ismade between the rods 27 and 28 and the levers to which they connect sothat the levers may move or slide on said rods Without effect when onelever is being operated by its rod for reasons apparent to the mechanic.This particular form of operating levers and rods is given merely' as anillustration of a suitable form of mechanism for operating the clutchesbut it is obvious that other forms may be employed without departingfrom the invention.

We have described with particularity the details of construction of thevarious parts of the device but we do not mean-to conne ourselves tosuch details as it is obvious that many changes may be made thereinWithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described our invention and set forth its merits, what we claimisl. The combination with the frame connecting the two axles, of theelectric-motor shaft extending diagonally across the frame, said shaftthroughout its length being rigid and supported rigidly in the samehorizontal plane with the car wheel axles and-having gears meshing withgears through which motion is transmitted to the car Wheel,substantially as andfor the purposes described.

2. The combination with the car wheel axles, of the electric-motor shaftarranged diagonally to the car wheel axles said shaft throughout itslength being rigid' and supported rigidly in the same horizontal planewith the car-wheel axles, and gears on said shaft meshing with othergearsV through which motion is transmitted to the car wheels wherebypower is applied from said motor shaft simultaneouslyk to the front andrear wheels at diagonally opposite points through single reduction gearsand said gears on the shaft are held by the rigid shaft at the samepoint against the gears with which they mesh, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

3. The combination with the car wheel axles, of the frame connectedrigidly with the car axles at diagonally opposite points, the

scribed.

axles, of the electric-motor carrying shaft extending diagonally to thelength of the car' Wheel axles and supported rigidly in the samehorizontal plane with said axles, and gears carried by said rigid shaftand meshing with other gears for transmitting motion to the car wheel,substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination with the car axles, of the motor-shaft supportedbetween the axles and lying diagonally to the length thereof, gears fortransmitting motion from said shaft to the car Wheels, and means forthrowing said gears into and out of operation while permitting the motorshaft to revolve, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. The combination with the car axles and Wheels, of the motor shaftsupported between the axles diagonally to the length thereof andprovided with gears meshing directly with gears connected to the carWheel, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. The combination with the car axles and the motor-shaft supportedbetween the axles and provided with gears, of gears for the motor-shaftlgears, to mesh with to transmit motion to the car wheels, said gearsbeing formed in sections to permit sections of the gears to be removedwithout removing the whole gear, substantially as and for the .purposesdescribed.

8. The axle connecting frame comprising the parallel sides two of whichrun diagonally to the others, and boxes connected to said frame forattaching the same to the car axles, substantially as and for thepurposes de- 9. The axle connecting frame comprising the parallel sidestwo of which run diagonally to the others, arms or members extendinglat- Verally from said frame, andV boxes connected In testimony whereofWe affix our signatures

